Collapsible umbrella



Sept' 2, 1958 w. TRIPPE coLLAPsIBLE UMBRELLA Filed Jan. 16, 1957 .Im/@non WAL 73E/P TIP/PPE www@ fida@ A 1 roe/ve r 'IIVIIIIIIIIA 711111111111111] United States Patent i COLLAPSIBLE UMBRELLA Walter Trlppe, Krefeld, Germany, assignor to Bremshey & Co., Solingen-Ohligs, Germany Application January 16, 1957, Serial No. 634,462 Claims priority, application Germany January 24, 1956 3 Claims. (Cl. 13S- 26) This invention relates to a collapsible umbrella having telescopic stick and rib parts, with main struts pivoted to the outer rib parts and auxiliary struts which are pivoted both to the main struts and also to an auxiliary slider movable along the stick. Umbrellas of this type which have proved satisfactory in use have, however, the disadvantage that on beginning to open the umbrella the rib parts are sometimes telescoped together instead of'being lifted away from the stick. Many developments have been proposed and tested for the purpose of obviating this disadvantage. One method of doing so consists in attaching braking springs'to guide sleeves within which one of the rib parts slides and which are used for the mutual guidance of the rib parts along each other. These springs counteract the relative movement f the parts of the ribs by acting as a brake and, therefore, ensure that the umbrella cover .is opened.

Hitherto, it was not possible to arrange the spring in the very small space available within the sleeve in such a way that in the trst place it produced a suiciently strong braking effect and in the second place was held quite securely and free from misplacement and in the third place did not anywhere project so far that it interrupted to any unpermissible extent the smooth contour of the ribs and of the sleeve and did not have any projecting ends liable to damage the material of the umbrella cover. t

The invention is concerned with a braking spring and mounting means therefor which fuliill the aforesaid requirements much better than previous constructions.l

According to the present invention, the telescoping together and drawing apart is resisted by a U-shaped braking spring, one arm of the spring being fixed to the sleeve and prevented from moving longitudinally relative to the sleeve and the other arm pressing against the rib part which slides within the sleeve.

With the known braking springsl the braking eiect, when telescoping the rib parts together was in general no greater than when spreading the ribs apart and in many cases was even less. This is a disadvantage since the braking action is only necessary when telescoping the rib parts together, and is undesirable when the ribs are drawn apart. In a further development of the invention a greater braking effect is obtained when the rib parts are telescoped together than when they are drawn apart, and to this end, in accordance with a further feature of the invention, the free ends of the arms of each U-shaped spring are disposed in the sleeve pointing in the direction in which the one part moves through the sleeve as the rib parts are drawn apart. Then, when telescoping the rib parts together, the free arm of the spring is, as it were, opened out away from the other arm and increases the pressure and, therefore, the friction.

Preferably the leaf-spring is secured in the sleeve both against longitudinal displacement and also against movement at right angles thereto transversely to the rib parts So that it cannot be pressed out of the sleeve by the fric- Patentedv Sept. 2, 1958 tion forces acting in the longitudinal direction and producing a turning moment and the described opening out of the spring is kept within permissible limits.

p The arrangement of the leaf-spring becomes particularly simple if one of its arms is bent to form a recess by means of which it engages in part of the sleeve. This form has a particular advantage that the shape of the sleeve need not diler from the usual shape.

Three constructional embodiments of the invention are illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevation of a telescopic umbrella without the cover;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the adjacent ends of the parts of a rib, together with their guide means;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line III- III in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line IV--IV of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section through the braking spring before its insertion;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section similar to Fig. 2 showing a modified arrangement;

Fig. 7 is a similar section through a third form of construction;

Fig. 8 is a plan of the spring used in the construction shown in Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a View of the spring from one end.

Referring to the drawing, the stick of the umbrella shown in Fig. l consists of two parts 10 and 11 which are telescopically insertible one in the other. The part 10 carries the crown 12 and the other part 11 carries the handle 13. A main slider 14 is movable along the stick. The main slider can be locked in position on the stick by means, which are not illustrated, in the positions which it occupies when the umbrella is open and closed. The ribs, which are pivoted to the crown 12, consist of telescopically movable parts 15 and 16. The part 15 is U-shaped in cross-section, and, when the umbrella is collapsed, receives the part 16 which is ofv circular cross-section. A guide sleeve 18 is fixed by means of a pin 17 at the inner end of the outer rib part 16 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2. The guide sleeve, in the example illustrated, is bent from stamped sheet metal. It can, however, also be made of plastic or other material. The pin 17 passes through the bent end 19 of the part 16 and serves at the same time as a pivot for the main strut 20, each of which is pivoted to the main slider 14. An auxiliary slider 21 is also movable along the stick. The auxiliary slider is connected to each main strut 20 by an auxiliary strut 22. The relative movement of the rib parts is limited by a ring 23 iixed at the outer end of the part 15.

When the umbrella is completely closed the ribs do not lie at a distance from the stick as shown in Fig. l, but are close to the stick. When the umbrella is opened there is a danger that the struts 20 will telescope the rib parts instead of spreading them out from the stick. This is prevented by braking springs which are illustrated in Figs. -2 to 9 and which are disposed Within the sleeve 18.

In Figs. 2-5 lthe spring 24 consists of a U-shaped leaf of spring steel, one arm 25 of which is provided with a bent recess 26. To insert this spring in position in the umbrella, the spring is placed in the space within the rib part 15 to the left (in Fig. 2) of the sleeve 18 and is then pushed along the rib towards the sleeve. When it meets the ring-shaped end 27 of the sleeve 18 the spring is compressed and on further movement finally arrives in the position illustrated in which the bend 26 snaps automatically into engagement with the part 27 of the sleeve 18.

When the rib parts are moved relatively to one another the spring 24 remains connected to the sleeve 18, whereas the U-shaped rib part 15 slides through the sleeve. The free arm 28 of the spring then presses against the bottom of the hollow rib part 15 and produces a friction which counteracts the movement. When the ribs are pushed together, assuming the rib part 15 to be stationary, the rib part 16 moves towards the left in Fig. 2. The free end 28 of the spring is thereby slightly opened out by the frictional force so that the friction is greater than with movement in the opposite direction, that is to say whenextending the umbrella when no opening out takes place.

The spring 24 projects below the bent head 19 of the rib part 16 which secures it against movement transfverse to the rib and prevents the compression of the spring from being excessive when the rib parts 15 and 16 are telescoped. By suitably adjusting the distance 29 between the spring and the part 19 the degree of opening out of the spring can be suitably determined. It has been found that a relatively small distance gives good results.

The cross-section of the free arm 28 of the spring as shown in Fig. 4, conforms with the shape of the rib part 15 Its curvature can be somewhat greater than the curvature of the U-prole of the rib so that there is substantially only point contact between the spring and the rib. The outermost end of the free arm is bent upwards slightly as shown at 30.

The construction shown in Fig. 6 is similar to that of Figs. 2-5, except that a brake shoe 31 is xed to the free arm 28 of the spring. The brake shoe may con sist of friction material which increases the braking effect and only Wears away slightly.

In the construction shown in Figs. 7-9, a U-shaped leaf spring 32 is also used for braking but with the spring disposed the other way round so that in this case the braking effect on extending the umbrella is not smaller than on collapsing it. As shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the spring is provided at the end of the upper arm 33 with upwardly bent lugs 34 having recesses 35 by means of which it engages under the pin 17. To insert the spring its head 37 is introduced through an opening 36 already existing in the sleeve 18 and it is then pushed to the left, after which it is again pushed to the right until the recesses 35 come into engagement with the pin 17. The strut 2t) is not shown in Fig. 7. in the same way as in Figs. 2 and 6.

I claim:

l. A collapsible umbrella comprising a stick and ribs. said stick comprising at least two parts which can be telescoped together and drawn apart, and said ribs comprising outer parts and inner parts which can also be telescoped together and drawn apart, a sleeve provided with a ring-shaped end, said sleeve being adapted for guiding said inner and outer rib parts along each other, said sleeve being fixed to one of said rib parts and the other of said parts being slidable within said sleeve, a main slider and an auxiliary slider both slidably mounted on said stick, main struts pivoted in connection with said outer rib parts and to said main slider, auxiliary struts pivotally connected to said main struts and to said auxiliary slider and a U-shaped braking spring for resisting the telescoping together of said inner and outer rib parts, said spring having one arm with a bent recess It is connected formed therein, said recess receiving the ring-shaped end for anchoring said sleeve to said spring and for preventing the latter from moving longitudinally relative to said sleeve and a second arm pressing against said rib part which slides in said sleeve, said one arm and said second arm pointing in the direction in which said rib part which slides in said sleeve moves through said sleeve as said inner and outer rib parts are drawn apart.

2. A collapsible umbrella comprising a stick and ribs, said stick comprising at least two parts which can be telescoped together and drawn apart, and said ribs cornprising inner parts of channel shaped cross-section and outer parts which slide within said inner parts, a sleeve provided with a ring-shaped end, said sleeve being fixed to said outer part and surrounding said inner part for guiding said inner and outer rib parts along each other, a main slider and an auxiliary slider both slidably mounted on said stick, main struts pivotally connected to said outer rib parts and to said main slider, auxiliary struts pivotally connected to said main struts, and to said` auxiliary slider and a U-shaped braking spring` for resisting the telescopingl together of said inner and outer rib parts, said spring having one arm with a bent recess formed therein, said recess receiving the ringshaped end for anchoring said sleeve to said spring and for preventing the latter from moving longitudinally relative to said sleeve and a second arm pressing against said inner part of channel-shaped cross-section, said one arm and said second arm pointing in the direction in which said rib part which slides in said sleeve moves through said sleeve as said inner and outer rib parts are drawn apart.

3'. A collapsible umbrella comprising a stick and ribs,

i said stick comprising at least two parts which can be telescoped together and drawn apart, and said ribs comprovided with-a ring-shaped end, said sleeve being xed to said outer part and surrounding said inner part for guiding said inner and outer rib parts along each other, a main slider and an auxiliary slider both slidably mounted on said stick, main struts pivotally connected to said outer rib parts and to said main slider, auxilary struts pivotally connected to said main struts, and to said auxiliary slider and a U-shaped braking spring of the leaftype for resisting the telescoping together of said inner and outer rib parts, said spring having one arm with a bent recess formed therein, said recess receiving the ringshaped end for anchoring said sleeve to said spring and for preventing the latter from moving longitudinally relative to said sleeve and a second arm pressing against said inner part of channel-shaped cross-section, said one arm and said second arm pointing in the direction in which said rib part which slides in said sleeve moves through said sleeve as said inner and outer rib parts are drawn apart.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 474,467 Batzei May 10, 1892 2,296,666 Haupt Sept. 22, 1942 2,700,391 Haupt Jan. 25, 1955 

